The age-group hit hardest by opiate addiction, struggles the most to find treatment. For teens – the first high from a powerful painkiller is even riskier than it is for an adult. That’s because those developing young minds are far more vulnerable to addiction – especially after a second prescription.
Dr. Julia Finkel is the lead researcher at Children’s National Health System in Washington D.C.
She explained “The disease itself seems to progress much more quickly.”